art scene

Break into the Ann Arbor art scene

Louis Meldman

Ann Arbor is one of the most distinguished artist communities in the America. It includes more than 600 galleries, workshops, artists and organizations. If you’re a student or new in town and you like art (along with fun, free wine and cheese, and interesting people) consider the following free associations.

TIPS

Bring a friend or a date or a parent. If your friend, date or parent “doesn’t like art” go with someone else. Smile and introduce yourself. Greet the artist and gallery owner and those minglers, doing the same thing you are. Sign the reception book including what you thought was the best part of the show.

If you’re on the email list of the Clay Gallery on Main, you know that Craig Hinshaw is having an exhibition of his ceramics from September 1st to the 29th. Hinshaw is featured in this month’s ArtBeat column in Current Magazine and ecurrent.com. I find Hinshaw’s black and white abstract forms to be accessible and impressively crafted. His animal ceramics are whimsical, delightful.

The opening reception is on Friday, September 7, from 7 to 9pm.

OUT & ABOUT

Don’t neglect campus architecture, a good deal of it was created by Albert Kahn. The next time you see his clock tower or graduate library, take a closer look at the lines and details.

Look for the lovely statuary around campus. Some of it is easy to miss if you’re staring straight ahead. My favorite is the bronze fountain by Carl Miles next to the Michigan League. And don’t neglect the landscape architecture. The Nichols Arboretum has five discreet environments (and an exquisite Peony Garden in the spring). The Matthaei Botanical Garden has charming trails, gardens and the glass pavilion. I was at a lovely wedding there recently.

Well, you’re off to a good start. Deep knowledge comes only with long practice, but if you follow the simple suggestions above you’ll be on your way to an inside look at Ann Arbor’s art scene. Trust me, it’s worth it.

Post navigation

Trending

“can’t hold on // I can feel time as it bends…” Just some lyrics from a composition called “Endings” by award-winning jazz vocalist Estar Cohen; and this propulsive image aptly fits for her music career, as each year since her 2015 graduation from the University of Toledo has gotten busier, faster, more exciting. You can

An essential way to craft a resonant piece of music is to unpack the existential pondering, the fleeting but insistent anxieties, the hard truths and easy reminders, that are swimming around up inside the head of the songwriter. The sublimity of Saline-based folk/Americana artist Monticello Van Odom‘s album is in how its spilling out all

Toledo’s future beat/psy-jazz/hybrid electro duo Heavy Color recently premiered a new music video that commemorates an inspiring musical odyssey charted by one of its songwriters back in 2015. The group formed several years ago around the collaborations of Ben Cohen and Sam Woldenberg. Their Toledo’s answer to cerebral ambient electronica acts like Four Tet, Caribou,

An elite black pianist tours the segregated south with a white roughneck chauffeur. Green Book combines two crowd-pleasing formulas—the road movie and the true story—with two stellar lead actors, Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. Mortensen plays Tony Lip, a white, working class second-generation Italian-American from the Bronx who works as a nightclub bouncer. Ali plays

Sometimes we need a little pick me up, and what’s better for that than booze? Whether you need a break from homework or you’re craving something after classes, the best time to get a drink is during the hours when it’s discounted. Your wallet agrees.

Enjoy delicious brunch items and a mimosa while you and your friends hash out the details and relive funny stories from the night before. Or better yet, bring your parents when they come to visit, since they will be picking up the bill.

The beauty of memories is that whatever ones you make remain uniquely your own. That said, our collective journeys lead us to believe the following experiences are the kinds you’re bound to hold onto and treasure. Check them out, twist, tweak, delete or add to them in any way you want, weave your own dynamic story.